The male baby compulsion​

While billions of people died in the terror wars, the population still remains larger than the post war world can sustain, so strict population control regulations are established.

For the average citizen, a young woman has only one chance to have a baby. That is during her first time having sex. Upon that one time, she must immediately go to the doctor and have her birth control device (BCD) installed. If later it turns out she is pregnant, it is deemed a ‘virgin birth’ and she may keep the child. Since the chances of pregnancy are very low for a virgin birth, most women of the poor and middle classes will never have any children to carry on their name.

This results in some women trying to get around the law by having their BCD removed. However, to succeed, the woman will need to hide for the last six months of her pregnancy, then have the baby with only the help of friends who will keep her secret. Once the child is physically born she can keep it. However, most women are caught before they can birth the child. Then the unborn child is aborted and the mother is charged with murder and imprisoned for life.

For the upper middle-class and people with critical jobs, they can apply for a permit to have a child. These are rare and highly coveted.

While the rich claim to live under the same rules, in reality, their lives are very different. Young debutantes are declared to be virgins for as long as it takes for them to conceive a child.​Wealthy men want lots of children, so after a young debutante has birthed him a child, she can be set aside for another debutante. As to whom will raise the child, a man has many choices. He can marry the mother and allow her to raise and nurture the child. He can take the child and have someone else raise it for him or he can allow the mother to raise it until the child is of use to him, at which time he will claim his offspring.

Being a debutante was little more than being a pampered breeding cow and Alisha wants none of it! Thankfully, she’d escaped the life her parents had planned for her.

Scavenger’s MissionBy Liza O’Connor

BlurbMeet Alisha: A young woman who refuses to live the life her parents want.In a single month, Alisha Kane has gone from a wealthy debutante to street girl to scavenger. While testing her new flying skills in the Cully Canyon, Alisha incurs a near-death crash landing. She’s “rescued” by a colonel of the SkyRyders and her life changes forever.Meet Logan: A SkyRyder colonel in charge of a sleepy fort with little to do other than arrest the occasional scavenger.For the first time in his life, Logan’s attracted to a young woman, only she’s probably a scavenger and he’ll have to arrest her. But first he offers her a shower and food while he checks on his crew. His videographer has captured her extraordinary flight through the Cully and her flying is astounding!He forgoes arresting her and puts his career at risk by asking MAC to assess her skills and integrity as a potential SkyRyder. If he can get Alisha into the SkyRyders, it will be his greatest contribution to the Corps.Meet MAC: The Artificial Intelligence that runs the SkyRyders Corps. Upon seeing her arrival, MAC upgrades Alisha’s test. Her flying skills are not just excellent; they exceed what was previously thought possible. MAC classifies her as its top asset and soon she proves her value. But…the SkyRyders remain a male dominated Corps where Alisha’s sense of right and wrong often clashes with her superiors. How long can a rebellious young woman survive in a regimented Corps?

ExcerptWhile no one liked the new laws, everyone understood the necessity. The world simply could not support the pre-war population. Unfortunately, it made virgins easy targets for men intent on passing on their genes to the next generation. Some seduced the girl so subtly that she believed she’d decided her own fate, and others offered her parents a valuable position in the government, or a substantial contract, or just paid them in cold, hard currency.Amazing!I escape one type of bastard only to fall into the hands of another. At least David didn’t pretend he cared about me. He didn’t make me love him with all my heart.Alisha forced the tears to stop.It’s over and done with. You gave him what he wanted. He has no further need of you unless by some odd chance you are pregnant. She dressed and stepped back into the room, trying to look as stone-cold as the colonel. She picked up her pack and hobbled to the door. “Can you let me out?”***Logan wished he could do that without getting so near her, but the damn door would only open to his print, so he had no choice.He placed his hand on the screen, standing as far away as possible.Alisha placed her hand on the doorknob but didn’t pull it. She spent a moment forming her question before she spoke. “I just want to know one thing. I thought last night was incredible, but maybe that’s just because I don’t know anything.” She looked up at him in confusion. “Wasn’t it good for you?” she asked, the pain and humiliation clear in her voice.Logan had to close his mind to her pain, or he’d be pulling her into his arms, begging her to forgive him. “It was good, but even good sex grows stale over time, and then all that’s left is complications and problems. You can do better than me, Alisha. You will do better. Just give it time.”Alisha had escaped from his room before the word “time” left his mouth.Logan sat down on the bed. Every fiber of his body screamed he had just made the worst mistake of his life. He desperately wanted to run after her and bring her back into his room and his heart.But she hasn’t left your heart. Can’t you tell? Can’t you feel how your heart squeezes so tight it might just collapse into its own little black hole, sucking up every piece of joy and happiness in the world? “I did the right thing,” he whispered.If that was true, then why did it feel so horribly wrong?

About the AuthorLiza O’Connor lives in Denville, NJ with her dog Jess. They hike in fabulous woods every day, rain or shine, sleet or snow. Having an adventurous nature, she learned to fly small Cessnas in NJ, hang-glide in New Zealand, kayak in Pennsylvania, ski in New York, scuba dive with great white sharks in Australia, dig up dinosaur bones in Montana, sky dive in Indiana, and raft a class four river in Tasmania. She’s an avid gardener, amateur photographer, and dabbler in watercolors and graphic arts. Yet through her entire life, her first love has and always will be writing novels.OTHER BOOKS BY LIZA O’CONNORSCIENCE FICTIONThe Multiverse SeriesSci-Fi Soap Opera with humor, romance, and scienceThe Gods of ProbabilitiesSurviving OutboundSurviving TerranueSurviving Sojourn

​Once again, I stayed up unable to put a book down. I needed to find out how the young heroine, Alisha, would survive her time with the Sky Ryders.

Alisha is resourceful and determined. She won't let anyone get in her way as she sets out to protect her grandfather, the one person who loves her for who she is. Alisha is determined to follow in his footsteps and learns how to ride the winds, giving her a chance for a career and an honest life.

Ms. O'Connor's books are engaging and full of interesting characters as well as snappy dialogue. This post-apocalyptic tale is sure to entertain all fans of science-fiction! A must read!